Easy to Love
by demonbarber14
Summary: For a stripper in Metropolis, life can sometimes seem like a dead-end. That is, until a certain someone changes everything. Pre-canon fanfic of "Superman the Movie" (1978)
1. Chapter 1

"Hey baby, you're on in five!"

Eve rolled her eyes and put down her lipstick. "Yes, I _know_ , Mr. Priver; I've only been here eight years."

"Someone's in a mood today, isn't she?" chirped a voice behind her.

Eve glanced over at Lydia, reclining on the dressing room sofa and reading a fashion magazine. Eve didn't want to dignify her comment with an answer and instead adjusted her bra, disregarding the glitter that came off in her hands.

"You really been here eight years?" Lyds continued.

"Yeah, next month, remember."

"No, don't say that. That means I've been here _ten_ years, and I can't live with that."

Not knowing what to say, Eve stood up and checked herself in the full-length mirror.

"Am I okay in the back?"

"Yeah, nothing'll come off until you want it to."

"Thanks"

She opened the door and reached the wings in time to see the conclusion of the act before hers. Then came the announcement, the musical intro, and the applause when she got onstage. She put on her stage smile; after eight years it came to her automatically, no matter how she was really feeling. She was met with a smattering of applause, which always helped her feel more relaxed. She started bumping her hips slowly in time to the music, then turned her back to the audience as the tempo increased. Originally, she'd done a little patter to go with the routine, but Mr. Priver had nixed it almost immediately, having told her that her voice and sense of humor took away from the "effect" of her act. Not that anyone had paid much attention.

The slow bump turned into a shimmy, as she unsnapped her bedazzled micro-mini skirt, revealing the delicate silver G-string underneath. It garnered her a few whistles, especially as she began unhooking her equally sparkly bra while maintaining the fast-paced shimmy. When the bra was off, she held it up before dropped it to the floor. As the music reached a crescendo, she turned towards the audience, who was always half excited by and half annoyed by the glittery nipple tassels she was twirling. That night, at least, most of them seemed appreciative. The rest of the routine mostly consisted of strutting, posing, and running her hands over her body.

The curtain descended after she gave a final bump, and she came back to the dressing room, after wishing Lydia luck as they passed each other in the wings. It wasn't long, though, before there was the familiar knock at the door.

"Hey, Evie; guy wants to see you."

"Is he cute?"

"He'll do."

"That's what you _always_ say, Mr. Priver" she sighed as she opened the door.

"He's in the back, third room."

She nodded and strode to the room in question, vaguely wondering what it would be like. She knocked softly on the door.

"Come in, baby."

She did so, and looked at the man sitting on the bed. He was the usual clientele, early thirties, slightly scruffy, and smelling of beer.

"Hi" she offered. "I'm really glad that you enjoyed my-"

"Lizzen, baby, I don't got all night, can we just make this a quickie?"

"Of course we can, Mr. …" she quirked an eyebrow, hoping to get some name out of him. She gave him a few seconds, but he was too busy untying his shoes to catch on. "How would you like to do it?"

That question caught his attention, at least for a moment.

"Eh, just the regular way. Like I say, I got places to be, and I ain't got time for no fancy stuff."

"Oh, okay." She walked toward the bed and lay down next to him, while he started removing his pants. Reconsidering, she slipped her G-string off herself. Such a delicate piece of equipment could never be handled by someone who was in such a hurry they couldn't even take their shirt off. She lay in silence, until his pants were down and he was on top of her. He started pushing into her right away, forcing a kiss on her lips almost as an afterthought. A good thing too, considering the way he smelled. She allowed herself to be bounced around, and wondered what movie she'd see that week. She hoped there would be a good comedy playing; there usually was. She'd liked the one that had been on television the week before; but then again, she'd always had a bit of a crush on Peter Sellers, though she much preferred him-

The man on top of her started to grunt, and she gave the little gasping cry that signaled she was having a great time.

In his earlier movies, though there had been that really good one where—

The man came inside her, and she threw in another scream of ecstasy just in case it would mean a bigger tip.

"That was nice, baby." He checked his watch and hurriedly put his pants and shoes back on before digging his wallet out of his pants. "Twenty, right?"

"Twenty, yeah."

He placed a bill on the tiny nightstand.

"Well, see 'ya, baby."

"Yeah." She gave a little wave as he left, and stared at the forlorn twenty. At least Mr. Priver let the girls keep whatever they made from their hooking. Not that it was from any sort of kindness; he just knew that any strip club where the strippers could be fucked cheaply after their performance would be popular enough to make him rich off the cover charge alone, let alone the bar bills.

She put her G-string back on, and went back to the dressing room, grateful that the girls were allowed to leave after one guy. She eased her nipple tassels off with some cocoanut oil and put her clothes on, before checking out with the bouncer.

She walked to her apartment and after making sure the Rent Jar was full, put the twenty in an envelope, along with a note she had written her mother the day before. It was getting harder and harder to find new things to write about, but she knew that even the most boring Metropolis monotony would thrill her mother, not to mention all of her mother's friends.

She took a shower and getting into bed, then heard Lydia open the door.

"Hey, how'd you do?" she mumbled, half-asleep.

"Oh, fine, fine. Got a thirty dollar tip."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Lady said I was the best fuck she'd had since her girlfriend left her."

"That's nice." Eve rolled onto her side. "What're you going to do with it?"

"Buy food, probably. And if there's anything you need, I can get it, if you're hard up."

"Thanks, I'm okay." She wrapped the blankets tighter around herself. It had all seemed so exciting at first, going to Metropolis with no friends and no money. She'd had it all planned out; she would become a secretary and marry her boss. But then that didn't happen. She swore she would only try stripping until she got a real job. Then the swore she would only have sex for money once, just that one week when rent was due, hers and her mother's. Then there she was, eight years later, still doing both. She wanted to blame Lydia, who'd gotten her that first job, but she knew that it wouldn't have been different with any other roommate. There were thousands of seedy strip joints all over Metropolis, filled with girls like her and Lydia, so if it hadn't been Lydia at The Bobcat, it would have been Michelle at The Gold Standard who got her started. Part of her still wanted to go home, but she knew that wasn't an option. It would mean she had failed, it would mean taking a job at Mitch's diner until she was a hundred and five, it would mean marrying someone she'd been to high school with, and sending her kids to that same, stupid place. Probably not even that. There were only nice boys where she grew up, and nice boys didn't go for girls like her. No, she needed Metropolis.


	2. Chapter 2

Eve woke up at 1:00 the next afternoon and blearily got dressed. The first few weeks, she'd found it difficult to sleep through most of the morning, but she'd quickly gotten used to it, just like she had everything else.

Stepping out into the city, she walked around the neighborhood and up to some of the nicer areas. It saved subway fare, and there was always the possibility of getting some extra work. Not that the early afternoon was full of job opportunities, but it had happened plenty of times before. That particular day wasn't a lucky one for her, however, and at 10:30 at night, after her usual routine of window shopping and getting lunch from a hotdog cart, she was back at The Bobcat dressing room, staring at the mirror.

She was tired of the whole thing; tired of men who didn't even bother to learn her name, tired of having crumpled twenty dollar bills practically thrown at her, tired of people in the club talking about her as though she wasn't standing right in front of them, or being called a whore to her face and behind her back, of having to put cardboard on the soles of her shoes because some sleazy businessmen couldn't spare an extra two dollars for her. Tired of—

"Hey baby, you're on in five."

She exhaled deeply. She'd go on that night, just like she did every night. Then, she'd wait in the dressing room before helping some balding, alcoholic prick relieve his tension. Then, she'd go home, and do the whole thing over again.

"Thank you, Mr. Priver"

After adding a little bit more blush to her cheeks, she walked out of the room and waited in the wings to go onstage. Once the last act was brought to a close, there was the announcement, the musical intro, the immediate application of the stage smile, the bumping, the grinding, and the applause when she left. Then, there was the dressing-room routine; taking her make-up off, helping other girls with their costumes, gossiping about whomever wasn't in the room. Then, just as she was dreading, the knock at the door.

"Yes, Mr. Priver?"

"Evie, um, someone wants to see you."

She thought about pleading period, but remembered the holes in her shoes.

"Okay, what room?"

"Two. But Eve are you in some kinda trouble?"

"No, what's wrong, Mr. Priver?"

He shifted awkwardly. "It's Lex Luthor."

"Excuse me?" She felt her heart quicken.

"Yeah" he nodded, looking over his shoulder. "Is there any reason he would want to see you? Because I can hide you if you need me to."

"No, no. I don't—he'd have no reason to be after me for anything."

"Well" Priver shrugged "I guess you'd better see him. I don't want him mad at me-us for any reason. Can you be out in five?"

She nodded and Priver left, closing the door behind him.

"Oh my _god_ , Evie!" Lydia shrieked. "Lex Luthor, _the_ Lex Luthor wants to see you."

"I thought he was in jail; shouldn't he be in jail?"

"No, they've never been able to get him for anything."

"But then why's he famous? He can't have done anything that bad if he's never been in jail, right?"

"Jesus Christ, Eve." Her half-naked coworker, Sandra rolled her eyes. "Everybody knows what he's done. The 14th Street Massacre, dumping that politician in the river. You know, my uncle had to go to a mental hospital because of him."

Everyone stared at her until she was forced to elaborate. "Yeah, my uncle owed him some money, but he didn't have it. So he, my uncle, that is, checked himself into a mental hospital because he thought he could be safe there. He spent five years there, then he died, but no one really knows how, so it could be that…"

"Sandy, you're not making her feel better" Lydia chastised.

"Right, sorry. Well, hopefully he's a good fuck, at least."

"Oh my god." Eve whimpered. She imagined everything that could possibly happen, and every scenario seemed to end with her either in the trunk of a car or at the bottom of the river.

Before she could think any more, she forced herself to get up and walk out of the dressing room. She slowly walked to the back room, as always wondering exactly what she was going to find on the other side of the door. After smoothing her hair down, she stepped into the room.

 _Oh god_. She'd seen men before, she had seen plenty of men before, but he was far better looking than any man she had seen, at least in real life. He was tall, looked to be decently muscular, had thick, glorious brown hair, and the most absolutely _elegant_ suit she had ever seen. Bright blue with a bit of red and purple, it was obviously tailored perfectly. Suddenly, the thought of being roughly bound and gagged didn't seem so terrible. He sat on the small chair by the little vanity that added an air of respectability and eroticism to the room. Though now that he was there, she realized how shabby it must all appear.

"Hi". Of course he had a perfectly darling smile, along with a perfectly darling, masculine voice.

"Um, hi." She found herself grinning as she walked towards them. And he had darling blue eyes too!

"Lex Luthor. It's a real pleasure to meet you. I very much enjoyed your show tonight." He stood up and extended his hand.

"Thank you, thank you so much. I'm Eve." She managed to giggle as they shook hands. He paused slightly, as if expecting something. "Teschmacher" she supplied

"Well Miss Teschmacher, I have something of a proposition for you."

"Good, I like propositions. You wanna undress me yourself, or you wanna watch me do it?"

He smiled in a way that made her feel like an idiot while simultaneously making her want him more.

"It isn't exactly that type of proposition, Miss Teschmacher."

"Oh, okay. Um" she sat on the bed, and he joined her. "Well, what type of proposition is it? Because that's really the only kind I'm used to, and I should let you know right now, I'm not gunna deliver anything illegal for you."

"No, it's nothing like that. You see, there's a certain Washington senator who's going to a certain party in Metropolis for the weekend. Now, all I need you to do is get him into one of the guest bedrooms and into a compromising position of some kind."

"Oh, and then you'll get a picture of it and blackmail him!"

"Very good, Miss Teschmacher."

She shrugged, trying to hide her grin. "Well, you know, I've seen it in movies."

"It's a standard method of extortion, but unfortunately, the girl I usually used for jobs like this has moved on. Now, how much do you usually charge for a job?"

"Tw—thirty-five."

"Really, Mr. Priver told me it was twenty." He continued before she could answer, "So, why don't we say an even forty for the time you'll be giving up."

"I'll also need a dress."

"Do you?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Well yeah, do I look like the type who has an appropriate dress for something like that?"

"No, I suppose not. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Good. We can go to Kendall's for the dress, and I can fill you in on the details. I'll meet you outside around, let's say 2:00."

"All right" she moved in closer to him. "But, um, what would you like to do in the meantime? I won't even charge you or anything, you can just make sure that you're getting the absolute best for your senator friend."

He laughed slightly and moved away from her. "That's very generous of you, Miss Teschmacher, but I have every faith in your abilities. And I don't know what your assumptions about me may be, but I don't exactly need to pay a girl like you to help me through the night."

"Oh." She scooted farther away from him.

"And Miss Teschmacher, if you tell a single soul about this-"

"Oh no, no, of course not! Trust me, I know how to keep my mouth shut."

"Very good"

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow them."

"It was a pleasure, Miss Teschmacher." He stood up and shook her hand again, before walking out the door.

She sat on the bed a few more seconds, trying to bury her disappointment under the excitement of the job ahead of her. She'd never fucked a senator before, at least not that she knew about, and she had certainly never had a dress from Kendall's, let alone been to some swanky party for government-types.

When she came back to the dressing room, she was met with a dozen questions from the other girls. She answered them gladly, telling them all about how cute he was, how many orgasms she'd had, and how much he had tipped her afterwards.

Just as the questions became too in-depth for her to answer realistically, there came the familiar knock at the door. "Hey, Sandra-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Sandra stubbed out her cigarette and the conversation ceased with a flutter of ruffles and jewels.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Eve walked from her apartment to Kendall's. It took almost an hour, but she wasn't about to spend money for a cab, and subways were treacherous even in the daytime. She had been to Kendall's before, of course, since it was as much a tourist attraction as a department store. When she had first arrived in Metropolis, she would play a game with the other girls at The Bobcat where they would all guess the price of a perfectly average dress, then look at the price tag to see the actual, astronomical figure. It had been fun at first, but once Sandra figured out how exactly long they would have to work in order to afford a plain white blouse, it quickly became disheartening.

The memory disappeared, however, as she saw Lex emerge from a long black car. He was even cuter than she remembered, especially since some weird trick of the light made him look much blonder.

He walked up to her and gestured to the building. "Well, shall we?"

"Good to see you too, Lex."

Walking in, she failed to resist the urge to look up and the glass ceiling the store was famous for. She didn't have the chance to stare for long, however, as they were immediately surrounded by salesgirls who obviously knew who had just walked in. When Lex told them that Eve needed a dress for a political function, they selected the most conservative clothes they could find, racing over with ankle-length skirts and black or grey blazers. Lex had slightly different ideas, though, and unceremoniously sent them away. He and Eve looked for dresses on their own, and went through the same routine every time she found a dress; she showed it to him, he shook his head in varying degrees of disgust and mixed with pity for her lack of taste, then he would promptly pick out something sexier, brighter, or even more sequined. Judging by the way he dressed, she knew all of his choices were the right ones, so she didn't feel disappointed at having to put hers away.

Once they had a selection of fourteen dresses, Eve headed toward the fitting room with trepidation. After putting the first dress on, she turned towards the mirror and looked at herself. She looked expensive. Her whole life, she'd always looked cheap, been called cheap. In her tawdry stripper clothes that shed glitter every time she took a step, and even in her respectable yet ancient street clothes, she felt like a tramp. But now, she was something else. In the black dress, she looked like a princess. Best of all, it was just low-cut enough that her breasts were still tantalizingly on display.

She stepped out of the dressing room, and tried to hide her excited smile as she showed it to Lex.

"It's nice." He gave her only a perfunctory glance before continuing. "A little too asymmetrical, but it's a definite contender. Why don't you try on the yellow next?"

"Oh, okay."

She tried on all fourteen dresses, from which Lex selected one winner, an essentially see-through piece of material with embroidered blue and gold flowers over the nipples and crotch areas. It was the pretty beyond words, not to mention the most glamorous thing she had ever seen, with the possible exceptions of the matching shoes and bag that Lex begrudgingly bought her as well.

"Now, Miss Teschmacher, if you're free, which I'm sure you are, we should probably go to the makeup and hair department. See if something can be done with you."

"Excuse me? I don't see anyone paying twenty dollars to sleep with _you_."

"I'm sorry, Miss Teschmacher, but aren't you a little old for drugstore lipsticks and dollar-store curling irons?"

"Aren't you a little old to play cheap tricks for money instead of getting a job?"

"Unlike you, whose job is nothing but cheap tricks."

She rolled her eyes to prevent any further discussion, when they finally reached the beauty department. After two hours of treatment, she emerged with a soft up-do to go with the dress, and a bag of make-up to complete the look, after she and the saleslady convinced Lex that getting all the makeup in full sizes was somehow more economical than getting sample-sizes.

"God, Lex" she sighed as the two of them walked out of the store and he couldn't change his mind about any of the purchases. "This guy must have serious cash on him if you're willing to spend that much money for a couple of pictures."

"Oh, believe me, he does." He led her to his waiting car, where his chauffer was surreptitiously reading a magazine.

"Philip!"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yes sir. Sorry sir!" The driver leapt out of the car and opened the door for the two of them, magazine still clutched in his hand. Lex groaned in frustration as he and Eve got into the back of the car.

"Just drive, Philip. I just have to fill Miss Teschmacher in on a few details."

"Oh, is she your new Miss Deland?"

"Yes, Philip, now drive."

"Yessir" Philip obeyed instantaneously.

"All right, Miss Teschmacher." Lex reached into a compartment in the car and pulled out a few photographs. "Here's the guy, Senator Vauxhall."

"Oh, he's…cute." He was, in a way, a very senatorial way.

"Glad to know your priorities are in order."

"You're not the one who has to fuck him."

"And here" he placed a photograph and a blueprint in her lap before pointing at a room depicted on the house plan "is the bedroom you're going to do it in. It should be the most convenient one to get to, since the party is over here" he moved his finger to a larger square on the drawing.

"Now, Philip" he pointed at the photograph "is going to be hiding in this closet right here taking the pictures, so be sure that Vauxhall is very visible from this closet door. Now, while we don't actually need you to fuck him, unless the spirit moves you, make sure you get him into a very awkward position, and not just one that he can brush off as harmless male fun."

"Oh, I think I can manage that part."

"Good. The party's at 9:00 this Saturday, and here's an invitation."

"Ooh, how'd you get _that_?" she fondled the thick paper

"Miss Teschmacher, when one is the greatest criminal mind of the twentieth century, forging a party invitation is tantamount to tying one's shoelaces."

"Oh, right. Sorry for asking." She looked at the invitation again, unsure of whether to treat his comment as a joke. "So, what happens after?"

"The money will be delivered to you if and when we get results."

"Well, that doesn't seem fair if you're paying me for my time. Besides, how much are you making from blackmailing him?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. Somewhere in the two thousand range."

"Gosh, Mr. Luthor" Philip piped up "I thought you said you was getting five mil from him."

Lex groaned again as Eve stared at him.

"Five million. Five million dollars, and you expect me to be happy with a miserable little forty dollars? No, I'm sorry. You couldn't do it without me, and I just can't accept that."

"All right, Miss Teschmacher, what could you accept?"

"Fifty thousand."

"Eighty"

"Forty thousand."

"Two hundred."

"Twenty thousand."

"Four hundred, with at least a picture of him groping your, um…"

"Tits?"

"Yes, thank you, Miss Teschmacher."

"All right, deal. But I still get forty for my time. And I get to keep everything you bought me."

"Deal" They shook hands, and she tried to fathom all that she could do with four hundred and forty dollars.

When they neared her neighborhood, she hopped out of the car and waved. "I'll see you soon."

He gave a distracted wave back before Philip drove away. It wasn't until she reached her room that she realized she had never told him where she lived. But, she thought, taking her new dress out of the bag, for the greatest criminal mind of the twentieth century, it probably hadn't been difficult getting her address. Nothing about him would have surprised her at that point anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Eve laid the dress on the bed and stared at it before putting it in the closet. It looked so silly next to all her other clothes that the almost wanted to stuff it back into the bag. Even next to her party dresses, it was ridiculous, and made all the others look like rags. She comforted herself with the thought that if Lex was pleased with her, he would buy her new clothes until her whole closet was full of dresses just as beautiful as the one from Kendall's. But before that happened, she had to do a good job with Senator Vauxhall.

She called in sick on Saturday afternoon, and after the usual harangue from Mr. Priver, she spent the rest of the day in preparation. The makeup Lex had bought her seemed much more obstinate in her hands than the lady who had given her the makeover at Kendall's, and the dress seemed ridiculous when she wore it in her apartment, let alone on the subway.

She arrived at the party when it was just starting to get going, and felt her a slight resurgence in her confidence return, especially after a glass of champagne. She was completely out of her element, but she liked the pretense. She also liked the fact that while the other women were dressed like senator's wives, she was dressed like a senator's mistress, and based on the amount of stares she got, she knew it wouldn't be difficult to get Vauxhall's attention. After getting another glass of champagne, this time to hold seductively rather than drink, she spotted Vauxhall.

He was standing with a group of other nondescript suits, and she casually circled the group so that she was facing him. She looked in his direction as casually as possible until he made eye contact with her. She smiled her best stage smile and he gave an almost embarrassed grin back. She knew he was going to be easy. She immediately dropped her gaze, but before he could look away, she glanced up at him again, this time from under her eyelashes. After looking back down, she waited. And a few seconds later, there he was, standing next to her, but far away enough to still keep up a façade of casualness.

"Hi. Fun party, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's wonderful! I was here with my brother, he's the politician, but I'm afraid I've lost him. Hey, you're Senator Vauxhall, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes, I am."

"Oh, _wow_! I just love you so much! You know, politically, I mean." She giggled.

"Well, thank you. That's not something I hear often enough. What, specifically do you agree with, Miss…?"

"Bianca."

"Bianca, what a pretty name."

She smiled, looked down, and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I've grown to like it. _Oh_ " someone lightly jostled her from behind, which, of course, sent her falling towards Vauxhall.

"But Senator, I especially love what you have to say about education.

"Oh, yes?"

She nodded. "I'm a teacher, so, you know, it's something I really care about."

"Really, what kind of teacher?"

She hadn't planned the lie that far, but an answer came to her quickly "High school English. You know, Dante's _Odyssey_ and all that."

"Oh, I see" he gave a confused smile. "And you're in favor of the new reforms we're planning?"

"Absolutely! But I still feel like us teachers don't get nearly enough say in the important stuff that affect us."

"You're right, and it's a big shame. You know" he straightened his shoulders slightly "you could tell me some of your ideas now, and I would certainly consider them."

"Okay" she lowered her voice. "It's so loud in here, though. Do you think we should find somewhere else?"

He cast a hesitant glance around the room. "You're right. The last thing I need is to run into another lobbyist."

"Yeah, I know what you mean!" She giggled, not quite sure what a lobbyist was, before turning leading him to the guest room and positioning herself by the closet, noticing that it was slightly ajar. He walked in, closing the door behind him.

"So, Miss Bianca, I'd be especially interested to hear your opining on implementing some of Dewey's ideas of schooling to public schools. Because I somehow get the feeling that you would be more interested in that type of liberal schooling."

"Oh yeah, I tend to be very liberal."

"But I just don't think that kind of system can work for students past the age of ten."

"No, you're absolutely right. I mean, after a certain age, they need discipline, or who knows _what_ they might get up to! You just hear so many stories about the crazy things kids are doing; all the sex and drugs and things like that."

"That's true, and I think those transaction schools are making them feel so entitled."

"That's such a good point, Mr. Vauxhall. You must be just about the only reasonable politician in America."

"You should tell that to my wife."

That was always a good sign, working the wife into the conversation so that she could decide whether to proceed or not.

She reached up and straightened his tie. "Well, if she really doesn't know, then…" She didn't get to finish her sentence, however, as Vauxhall grabbed her waist and kissed her. She let herself enjoy it, pretending he was Lex and kissing him back properly. He started fumbling for her breasts and groped them awkwardly. Wanting to make sure the pictures were safely taken, she took his head in her hands and pressed it against her breasts. While he was nuzzling her, she turned toward the closet did her best to look surprised and horrified for the sake of the photographs. She even grabbed his hair to push him closer, knowing that in a still photograph she could easily be pulling him away. He finally brought his head back up and kissed her lips again.

"Take your dress off" he whispered in her ear in between kisses. "I want to look at you."

She pulled back, about to comply, but then remembered Philip in the closet. If she was going to be a teacher for that night, she certainly didn't want to be a corrupting influence on the youth of America.

"No, I'm sorry. I-"

"Oh, no, no need to explain. What I did was completely out of line and I apologize."

"That's okay, that's okay. I just think we both got a little drunk and a little carried away, and that we should just go back to the party like nothing ever happened."

Vauxhall agreed with her, and Eve sneaked out of the party as soon as he was out of sight. She took the subway home, trying to ignore the stares she got in her dress. She arrived home before Lydia, which she was thankful for, as an outfit like that would take more of an explanation than she was willing to give. She hid it in her closet, and tugged an oversize T-shirt over her head, wondering what kinds of nightgowns she would have with four hundred dollars.


	5. Chapter 5

Four days later, Eve traipsed onstage to do her act, when she saw Lex in the audience. He was at the best table, of course, and wearing the brightest suit. She almost hadn't recognized him at first, as his hair was in a different style and, again, by some trick of the light seemed to be a different color. He smiled and gave her an almost imperceptible wave. She broadened her already wide performance grin and threw in an extra few hip bumps in his direction. The second the show was over, she threw on her dress, not bothering to remove her stage makeup. When she opened the door and saw him calmly talking with Mr. Priver, though, she took a few seconds to smooth her hair down and walk towards them with all the dancer's grace she could muster.

When he saw her, he gave her a smile she hadn't seen on him before. For once, he looked genuinely happy to see her.

"Evie" Mr. Priver beckoned "room two."

"Yes, Mr. Priver." She grabbed Lex's hand and led him to the room. He closed and locked the door behind him before gently cupping her chin in his hand.

"Miss Teschmacher, you're wonderful."

"Really?" she beamed, and nuzzled his hand.

She knew she had overdone it when he quickly let go of her.

"Four hundred?" He reached into his blazer pocket.

"Four hundred forty."

He took a stack of bills out of his jacket and handed her money to her after counting it out. Satisfied, she put it in her purse, and returned her attention to Lex.

"So, how did Vauxhall take it? I wanna know everything that happened!"

"All right." He sat on the bed and she joined him. "Well, I developed the film, and it was just perfect."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Exactly what I had in mind. They made him look like a pervert with a taste for flashy, cheap hookers. So, I called him that night, and explained…"

Eve had stopped listening, though, the words "flashy, cheap hooker" exploding in her mind.

"…and without another word, five million dollars into my bank account."

"That's nice, Lex."

"What is it, Miss Teschmacher?"

"What do you mean, 'What is it'? I said 'that's nice'. What do you want me to say?"

"Are you upset that I called you cheap? Miss Teschmacher, anyone off the street can have you for twenty dollars."

"Well, _proving_ I'm cheap doesn't make me feel any better."

He sighed impatiently. "I just gave you four hundred and forty dollars for being a cheap hooker."

She bit the inside of her lip. Normally she wouldn't have minded so much, but she'd been so excited to see him, and her PMS was worse than usual, leaving her more vulnerable than she would have been otherwise. "I just don't like being called that" she was able to say haltingly.

"You mean, 'flashy', 'cheap', or 'hooker'? Or is it just that specific combination?"

She rolled her eyes at his insensitivity, "God, can't we just forget it? You paid me, what else do you want to stick around for? I'm sure you've got some non-flashy, non-cheap…non-hooker to spend your time with."

"As it happens, I don't at the moment. And as for my sticking around, I was wondering if you'd like me to take you out to dinner?"

"What?"

"Sure, I was thinking of taking you to Walch's to celebrate properly. But if you're going to act like-"

"No, no, of course I'll go!" She pressed her body against his, happy to forget anything he'd called her. After all, if she was going to be with Lex Luthor, she would have to get used to the fact that he was completely heartless.

"Lex, you're wonderful."

"I know."

After a few words with (and some bills slipped to) Mr. Priver, Lex led Eve to the car. "Have you been to Walch's before?"

" _Walch's_?" She had to let out a giggle. "No, not yet. But my mother's asking me all the time if I've eaten there yet. I'm from Hackensack, so, I'm not exactly used to high-class places like Walsh's. You probably go there all the time."

"I wouldn't say that; I'd say I go twice a week, maybe."

"Gosh, Lex" she exhaled, "I just can't believe I'm with you."

"I know, shocking, isn't it?"

She unsuccessfully tried to stifle a sigh of annoyance, which he pretended not to notice.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant, and she couldn't believe that she was actually stepping under the famous blue awning to go inside. They sat down as a veritable army of attentive waiters appeared seemingly out of nowhere and began taking their orders and bringing them drinks.

Once she got over her awe, she spent most of the date just listening to Lex talk, as it clearly seemed to be the way they both preferred it. She didn't understand a lot of what he said, but would smile and nod whenever he asked her if she had read a particular book or seen a particular play, then agree with him whenever he would state an opinion on it. Initially, she tried to make mental notes to read everything he was talking about, but soon the task became too daunting, and she found herself simply staring at him, while trying to look intelligent at the same time. She made him visibly annoyed a few times, especially when he remarked that the dénouement of a particular play was disappointing, and she agreed that he was her least favorite character too. She could tell that he enjoyed it, though, because the dumber she was, the smarter he became by comparison.

If she didn't quite appreciate the conversation, at least the food wasn't lost on her. Lex took the liberty of ordering for her, and she was nearly overwhelmed at how good food could actually be. She'd spend most of her life living off of TV dinners, hot dogs, and free pretzels, but Walch's was too good to be believed. There wasn't very much of anything, but it was all delectably laid out, with the artichoke leaves spread out like a fan, lightly drizzled in sauce, the tiny dollops of caviar, the delicately carved duck, it was heaven on a plate, and she embarrassed herself by eating everything in front of her, and about a third of what was in front of him.

When they were back in the car, she was about to make a suggestive comment about wanting to see where he lived, but knew that she would met only with that smug little smile. As they neared her neighborhood, she became acutely aware of the kind of car Lex had and how it looked in the dark, trash bag littered streets. She wanted to stay in the car, wanted to stay a part of the world of Walch's. They finally reached her building (she didn't even bother asking how he knew her address without having asked) and she reached for the car door handle.

"Want me to walk you to your door?"

"Oh _yeah_. Absolutely!" She tried not to sound too eager, but when guys offered to walk her to her door, it only meant one thing.

They stepped out of the car and up the small flight of stairs that led to the door of the building,

"So, you'll see me again sometime?"

He nodded. "I'm sure I'll find some further use for you."

"Will you see me even if you don't?"

He laughed and brushed some strands of hair from her face. "Sure, Miss Teschmacher."

Again, there was that smile that made her feel like an idiot. That smile that made her want to punch him in the nose. Or at the very least…without thinking, she leaned forward slightly and tilted her face upwards. After a slight, horrible hesitation, he took advantage of the invitation. She'd been kissed before, and in plenty of different circumstances, but never quite like that. It wasn't quick and desperate, but it wasn't wet and sloppy; it was self-assured, slow, and through. He seemed to kiss her in every way possible, biting her lower lip, sucking on her upper lip, slipping his tongue in her mouth, and just _kissing_ her. His hands dug into her waist as he held her as closely as possible. She kissed back as best she could, of course, standing on tiptoe to do it perfectly.

When he finally pulled away, she kept her hands on his shoulders.

"Do you wanna stay the night? I don't think my roommate'd mind" She knew there were more delicate ways to ask, but at that moment, she wanted him too badly to care.

"No, Miss Teschmacher. I think you're a little drunk, and I'd better get back."

"Oh, okay. But I'll see you again, though, right?"

"Yes, Miss Teschmacher, I just said that."

She tried to get another kiss from him, but he turned and went back to the car. She ran up the stairs to her apartment, and closed the door with a happy sigh.

"Hey, Evie, what's up?"

"Lyds, guess how much I made tonight?"

"Um…fifty?"

"Oh no."

"A hundred?"

"Nope."

Lyds raised her eyebrows.

"Four hundred forty."

"No _shit_!" Lydia shrieked. "Jesus Christ, fuck! That's—God, what are you gonna do with it?"

"Rent and debt first. Then some new dresses, then some nice dinners, then the rest will go in the bank."

"How'd you get it?"

"Mm, wouldn't you like to know?" She gave a little wriggle before changing into a T-shirt to sleep in.

"Well, it had to be with Lex Luthor, so tell me, was it something super weird?"

"Nah, just the usual stuff. I mean, I'm sure that sometimes he likes it exciting, but this time it was just vanilla. Really good vanilla."

"Damn."

"I know!" She got into bed and the two of them discussed her future purchases well into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

The money Lex gave her extended to that month's rent for her and her mother, what she owed already, a trip to the salon, and a few moderately priced outfits. Taking her mother's advice, she forced herself to save the rest. Of course the story spread through The Bobcat, and Eve was forced to make up more and more details as she found herself becoming the subject of an urban legend. She had heard so many stories that it wasn't hard to come up with some convincing lies about how much Lex loved her and was willing to spend money on her just for making him happy.

Three weeks later, the phone rang in the apartment. She let Lyds pick it up, since her mother only called at night, and no one else called at all.

"Hey, Evie, it's for you! Some guy called Philip or something. Sounds cute."

"Oh, great!" Eve jumped up and grabbed the phone. "Hey, Philip, how are you?"

"Hi, Miss Teschmacher. Um, Mr. Luthor wanted to arrange a meeting with you, and, um, he wants to meet you at the park in forty-five minutes. By that cute little duck pond. You know, with the fountain thing."

"I know what you're talking about, Philip" she laughed. "Sounds fine—I'll see him there."

"All right, Miss Teschmacher. I'll tell him. And…uh. Well, you…you have a good day, okay?"

"Okay, Philip. 'Bye." She hung up the phone with a little laugh.

"Sounds like this Philip guy has a crush! Is 'Miss Teschmacher' like a kinky thing you two have?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that. He works for Lex."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting him in a little bit!" She instantly turned towards the closet and searched for an appropriate outfit.

Eventually, she settled for a short white dress with black stockings, cream sweater, and a beret perched atop her professionally done curls. She dashed over to the park and stood by the duck pond. Lex arrived right on time, of course, elegantly dressed as always.

"Hi, Lex!" She grinned and waved when she saw him approaching. "Gosh, you look wonderful!"

"Why, thank you, Miss Teschmacher." He said with no hint of embarrassment at her exuberant compliment, making part of her want to take it back. "you look, um, very comfortable."

"Thanks, Lex" She tried to sound enthusiastic. "You have another job for me?"

"Yeah, it should be a cinch for you. There's a particular technology company called Meli Inc. that I-"

"Ooh, Lex, can you buy me a lemonade?" She pleaded when they passed one of the many vendors.

"Excuse me, Miss Teschmacher?"

"Come on, Lex, think about it. If we just walk around the park together, we might look suspicious and people might wonder what we're saying. But if you get me a lemonade, people will just think that we're a cute couple and they won't care what we say."

"Miss Teschmacher, that is a completely absurd mental leap."

"Well, maybe I can't concentrate when I'm thirsty."

"All right, Miss Teschmacher." He begrudgingly made the purchase. "Now are you ready to listen?"

She nodded; if they had just talked about a job, it would have been business, but since he got her a lemonade, it was a date. "There's a tech company"

"Yes, now, I have the feeling that Kenneth Meli, the president of the company, has a lot of information that could be useful to me. However, I obviously don't have access to his office."

"You want me to flirt my way in?"

"Exactly, Miss Teschmacher. And when you do" he reached into his pocket and handed her a small, metallic object "I want you to stick this under his desk. That way, anything he says will get transmitted right to me."

"Ooh, you're gonna bug him? I saw a movie that was like that once. But I think someone was on a boat, and there was this guy who..."

"Yes, thank you, Miss Teschmacher, your commentary is riveting."

She rolled her eyes and put the bug in her purse.

"So, where am I meeting him?"

"Tomorrow at 7:00 sharp. He goes to Delilah's coffee and pastries on 48th Street every day. Just make sure you catch his attention, and flirt until he takes you to his office. Then you place the bug under his desk."

"Then what?"

"Then you do what you want with him, and leave."

"I mean, how much are you gonna pay me?"

"For something as simple as that, fifty, especially since I'm not making any direct monetary gain from it."

"Lemme see his picture."

He showed her, taking a crumpled newspaper clipping from his pocket.

"Seventy-five."

Lex laughed and looked at the picture with her. "Yeah, that seems only fair."

As he put the picture back in his pocket, she seized the opportunity to link arms with him. He didn't seem to mind, though, and they kept walking through the park.

"So Lex, how does someone become the greatest criminal of the century?"

"Hard work, brains, dedication, intimidation."

"Well, yeah" she attempted to rest her head against his shoulder, "but I wanna know how you did it. You know, like how you started out and all."

"Miss Teschmacher, why do I suspect this is a ploy to get me to talk about my childhood so that you can claim to understand me?"

"Very funny." She tried to think of something else to say, but couldn't, since he was completely right.

"All right, Miss Teschmacher, since you're being so agreeable. I spent my childhood dirt poor living in the middle of nowhere. My parents and I didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on most things, so I left home as soon as I reasonably could, and of course came to Metropolis. I was quickly able to get some odd jobs with the men who owned the streets, then pretty soon I was one of them, and just a few years later, here I am."

"Wow." She tried to sound impressed at the little information he gave her. "Did your parents ever find out?"

"No, they're not around anymore."

"I'm so sorry" she cooed. "I'd just about die if anything happened to my mother." She clutched his arm as a thought occurred to her, "They weren't killed by some other gangster, were they? _You_ didn't kill them, did you?"

He only smiled and continued walking. "One of those options is exceedingly likely."

Her eyes widened, and he tightened his grip on her arm. It was like watching a horror movie; the idea of it was so awful that it made her feel a little thrilly.

"Lex, you are sick. You are really sick."

He smiled and inclined his head in agreement.

"I just can't believe it sometimes, how anybody could be so awful when it comes to other people's…"

He cut her off by lightly kissing her, and instinctively, she responded, lightly easing her tongue into his mouth. When he pulled away just as abruptly, she remembered how horrified she was by him.

"What was that for?"

"Someone was coming, and I didn't want them to overhear our conversation. Besides, you were the one who wanted us to look like a couple."

"God, I hate you sometimes." She pressed her body up against his, and he accepted the unspoken invitation to put his arm around her shoulder.

"And what about you, Miss Teschmacher. How does one become one of the most thoroughly mediocre strippers of the century?

"It's not that exciting" she answered, too used to his jibes to care. "My dad left when I was nine. My mother was great, and everything, but still, puberty hit and I started looking so, you know, um, well, you know how look, and guys started liking me, and I liked the attention at first. But by the time I realized I wanted just one boy, all the nice boys had started avoiding me, and there was no one left but the creeps. And then when I got older, I realized that I'd never get married to the kind of guy I liked if I stayed in Hackensack, so I came here to become a secretary and marry my boss. But you can see how that turned out. So, here I am, eight years later."

"Do you have any clue what you want to do in the future?"

"No, I mean, I try to save up, but honestly, I still think marriage is my best option" she pushed her body closer to his.

"I have an appointment" he disentangled himself from her. "I'll get in contact with you after the job."

"Oh, okay" she waved plaintively as he walked away before finishing her lemonade.


	7. Chapter 7

Lex had been watching the guy for days, and luckily, his habits were extremely regular. Eve stood outside his favorite coffee shop, pretending to be engrossed in a magazine from the nearby stand. Through the window, she watched him turn to leave after picking up his order. She put the magazine back, and started walking in front of the building, ready to compliment him on his tie, or, more realistically, for him to compliment her in the new blouse and skirt Lex had sent her. As she approached him, she felt her feet catch on something, and before she could balance herself, she was sprawled on the concrete, a shooting pain in her knee. Looking up, she caught sight of the Philip's back as she hurried away from the scene of his crime. Of course Lex wouldn't even trust her to get someone's attention properly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" She snarled at the man who had come to help. Realizing that he was her guy, and remembering what she was there for, she changed her demeanor. "Can you help me up?"

He did so, and she leaned on him, hobbling slightly. Looking down at her leg, she saw a thin line of blood.

"Are you sure you're okay? Here, let's find a place for you to sit down." He guided her to a table outside of the coffee shop. She straightened her leg and raised her skirt, cringing again at the sight and the knowledge that she had to dance later that night.

"That looks pretty bad. Look, I'm sure the restaurant has some kind of first aid kit; you want me to get you a Band-Aid?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you so much!" she said, trying to sound sexy and pained at the same time.

He returned a few moments later, Band-Aid and Neosporin in hand, as she propped her leg up on a chair.

"Could you put it on for me? I'm sorry, it's just in an awkward place."

"Oh, of course" he said after a momentary hesitation.

"My name's Eve, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kenneth." He put the Band-Aid on, trying to be furtive about looking up her skirt. She had opted not to wear underwear that day, and the choice seemed the desired effect on him.

"Thank you again, Kenneth. Really, I just don't know how that happened."

"Some people can be so inconsiderate."

"Yeah. It's a lot better when I'm not on my feet. I just wish I had a place to sit down for longer, at least until work. With the brunch crowd coming in, the manager probably wouldn't like it if I stayed here."

"You could always come to my office."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, it's just around the corner. You could sit there until you have to go to work."

"That would be wonderful, Kenneth!" She cooed, standing up and linking arms with him. "Do you work in a big office building? I've never been in a big office building before!"

"It's in an office building, all right. Where do you work?"

"Vintage store."

"That sounds like a fascinating job"

She told him all about it, as they made their way to the imposing structure where he worked. They reached his office, and wanting to be rid of him as soon as possible, she sat on his desk and spread her legs.

"Wow, this is _huge_ "

"I've got something else here that's huge." He walked over to her and started kissing her and unbuttoning her blouse while she slipped the bug into her hand and onto the underside of the desk. Letting him kiss her neck a few more times, she hastily pushed him away.

"Gee, Kenneth, you're really sweet and all, but I gotta get to work."

"Are you sure?" He had a death grip on her breasts, and continued slobbering all over her neck.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She slid off the desk. "Why don't you give me a call sometime?" She scribbled the number of her favorite pizza place on a legal pad.

"Maybe we can see a movie sometime"

"Maybe we can." She ran to the elevator as quickly as she could with her towering heels and skinned knee.

She couldn't believe Lex's nerve. It would certainly cost him another $20, at the very least. That night, she went to The Bobcat, and after her usual, if somewhat somewhat more painful, performance, ran backstage to find Mr. Priver waiting for her.

"Hey, Evie, it's _him_ again. Room three."

"Thanks, Mr. Priver." She left the room, pretending to be oblivious to the giggles and whispers behind her. Reflexively smoothing her hair and straightening her back, she walked in. Lex looked handsome as ever, standing casually by the vanity table.

"I did it." She walked towards him, trying not to be happy to see him.

"Very good, Miss Teschmacher." He took out his wallet and started rifling through bills. "Fifty, wasn't it?"

"It was seventy-five, but you owe me extra for what Philip did to my knee. It's a hundred."

"It can't be that bad, Miss Teschmacher."

"Lex, I'm a _dancer_."

He gave her a patronizing look.

"And, well, even considering what else I do, you still owe me twenty-five dollars. It makes my legs look less nice, and it'll prevent me from getting into some positions that I might normally-"

"Let me look at it."

"Really? Okay." They sat next to each other on the bed, and she peeled the Band-Aid away.

"That's not worth twenty-five, Miss Tescmhacher."

"Are you kidding? It's so red."

"It'll go away in a day or two."

"No, it's huge. Come on, look at it." She draped her leg across his. "It's awful." She bent her leg slightly, letting the fabric of her dress slide to her upper thigh.

"All right, Miss Teschmacher." He took out his wallet and handed her a hundred dollar bill, one of about eight from what she could tell.

"You know, Miss Teschmacher, I'm not sure if I should keep coming here."

"Why not? I've done a great job."

He laughed slightly at her look of consternation, "It's nothing to do with you. You'll continue to work for me, I just feel as though my coming to a place like this doesn't exactly help my reputation as…"

"A man of wealth and taste?"

"Thank you, Miss Teschmacher, I can speak perfectly well without your interjecting with sub-par music references."

"You recognized it, though." She slid onto his lap and put an arm over his shoulder, and he gave her a distracted kiss on the lips.

"So in the future, I'll have Philip pick you up and take you to my place. If that's all right with you."

"Yeah, that'd be great!' She unsuccessfully tried to hide her excitement. "Where do you live?"

"Wilmer Street"

"No shit! _The_ Wilmer Street?"

He nodded.

" _Jesus_."

"I don't think I'll be there much longer, though. I'm planning on relocating, shall we say?"

"From Wilmer Street? Why?"

"It's a little public for my taste. I'm looking at somewhere a bit bigger and less noticeable from the outside."

"That sounds nice too" she kissed his cheek, nuzzled against him, and when neither gesture got a reaction, she gently bit his earlobe. "You know, Lex, a hundred dollars gets you five sessions."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Come on, Lex."

She shifted her position so that she was straddling him, and they kissed properly again. It was slow, sexy, and gentle. His hands went to her waist and she silently begged him to move them up just a few inches. After what seemed like an eternity, he did it, lightly cupping and squeezing her breast. She kissed him harder to show her approval, and he kept at her. He was maddeningly confident with her, touching her with all the calmness of ownership. She'd had her breasts treated reverently and aggressively, but never so casually. It felt good, though, and when they finally broke contact, she immediately leaned in again, right as he eased her off him and stood up.

"I have a meeting at 3:00, so I should probably be on my way."

"You always have meetings and appointments, don't you?"

"I'm a busy man, Miss Teschmacher. But it means I've got plenty of jobs in mind for you."

He walked out, and she flopped down on the bed. Frustrated by the fact that he didn't go farther, she rolled onto her stomach and slid her hand between her legs. Five minutes later, she sauntered into the dressing room, and described the ideal sexual escapade to the half-admiring, half-distracted girls around her.


	8. Chapter 8

Eve didn't hear from Lex for another week, but finally, she saw Philip waiting for her outside the club.

"Wow, Miss Teschmacher, you look so pretty!"

"Thanks, Philip" she beamed and kissed him on the cheek before walking with him to the car. "Does Lex wanna see me tonight?"

"Yeah. Gosh, you looked so nice onstage! How did you get your—you know, _things_ to do the twirly thing?"

"Lotta practice!" She sank into the deep seat of the car as Philip started driving.

"You know, you're my favorite of all the girls Mr. Luthor's friends with."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I think you're his favorite, too. I dunno, maybe you'll get married."

She laughed, but was comforted by his confidence. "You think so?"

"Well, you _should_. I dunno. I _think_ he likes girls, but… no, yeah I think he likes everyone. You know?"

"Really?" It wasn't exactly a surprising revelation, considering how well he dressed, but it was something to think about.

Philip nodded. "I mean that's just what I'm guessing. But I still think you're his favorite girl."

That was something, at least.

As they drove, the neighborhoods became fancier and fancier, until they reached Wilmer Street, where people actually lived in houses instead of apartments. They pulled up to a townhouse, and Philip leapt up and opened the door for her.

The house was like nothing she had ever seen. While it was huge, it was completely crowded with books, papers, and objects of every kind. Lex emerged from another room, idly fixing his hair.

"Hello, Miss Teschmacher."

"Hi Lex! Got another job for me?"

He nodded "You're going to love this one."

"Really?"

"It won't be easy, but for some insane reason, I think you're capable of doing it."

"Okay, shoot." She moved some papers from a couch and spread her legs just enough so that he could see she wasn't wearing underwear.

"You're getting a job as a secretary at The Hendricks Corporation. You're going to learn everything you can about how they do business and relay the information back to me. I'm thinking the whole thing will take two to three months. I'm prepared to supply you with clothes and typing lessons, and when it's all over, you're getting five thousand dollars. Plus, whatever you legitimately earn"

"Oh my god." She stared, "five thousand?"

" _If_ you give me what I want."

"I will, Lex, of course I will. How am I gonna get the job, though?"

"You're going to get a glowing recommendation from Senator Vauxhall, in which he says you're the best secretary he's ever had. And Mr. Hendricks' current secretary is…about to retire in a few weeks."

"That's perfect!" she giggled. "I'm gonna be a real secretary!"

"I thought you'd appreciate that. I'll fill you in on the details during the next few weeks."

"You know, Lex, I really like you sometimes."

"Glad to hear it, Miss Teschmacher. Though if you want to pass as a real secretary, I'd suggest crossing your legs."

She complied with a roll of her eyes, then nodded towards the large piano in the room. "You play?"

"Of course, Miss Teschmacher." He paused and smiled slightly. "Do you want me to play you something?"

"Yeah."

She sat on the bench and he joined her.

"You like Cole Porter?"

She nodded and rested her head against his shoulder, as he started running his well-manicured fingers over the keys.

"Oh, sing it for me!" She pleaded.

He sighed, but obliged her, softly going on about how easy to love she was.

" Lex" she murmured when he was done, "How come you're so good to me?"

"You remind me of my grandmother."

" _What?_ "

"Yeah," he lightly tweaked her earlobes, "especially around the ears."

"Oh, come on, Lex, why can't you-"

He quelled any admonishments by kissing her forcefully on the lips and sliding a hand up her dress. Just before he reached anything exciting, Philip burst into the room.

"Hey, Mr. Luthor. Oh, wow, I'm really sorry to bother you and Miss Teschmacher, but, uh, Mr. Meli's been killed."

" _What_?" Eve couldn't help shout. She hadn't known anyone was going to die because of her. She looked to Lex for some comfort or at least horror to match hers, but he kept his usual sardonic smile.

"Yeah." Philip nodded. "Yeah, in the shower. I think. Or maybe it was the bathtub. No, it was definitely the shower, because when I heard it, I thought of this really crazy…"

"Yes, thank you, Philip" Lex interjected. "Has my name been brought up at all?"

"Uh-uh. I mean, _they_ obviously meant it to look like an accident, so no one knows about the tapes even. Let alone that _they_ got them from you."

Eve tuned out the rest of the conversation, as she contemplated what had happened, and told herself that she wasn't responsible. After her initial horror, she was even able to tell herself that Lex wasn't responsible, not really. Besides, Meli had been so rough with her, did it really matter to _her_ that he was dead? She tried to shut the thought out as soon as it occurred to her, but couldn't help but come back to it. Anything to alleviate the guilt.

Finally, Philip left and Lex turned back to her.

"Miss Teschmacher, typing lessons begin tomorrow. Nine in the morning. Philip will pick you up."

She hesitated, then picked up her purse. "I'll be there."


	9. Chapter 9

Three weeks later, Eve was working for The Hendricks Corporation. The typing lessons and clothes that Lex had supplied her with had more than paid off, and by her first day, she felt like a total professional. Her hair had been dyed brown, she walked without an exaggerated hip wiggle, and she could even hear the phrase "take dictation" without giggling. She knew it would be impossible explaining to Lyds and everyone else at The Bobcat that she had miraculously gotten a job at one of the major corporations in Metropolis, so she told them as much of the truth as she could, and let them assume what Lex was up to. If Mr. Priver was bothered that she was getting an indefinite paid vacation, he certainly didn't let her or Lex know.

She could tell from her first interview that Mr. Hendricks was going to be easy to fool, considering how obviously smitten he was with her. Using the excuse that she couldn't read his handwriting, she meticulously copied down his schedule, including the names and numbers of everyone he was meeting with, and took note of everyone who entered his office, everyone who called, and every word they said.

During her first lunch break, she stood outside the building, not sure where to go. It wasn't a part of Metropolis she usually went to, and she didn't want to get lost in the labyrinth of office buildings.

"Hi, you're new here, aren't you?"

She turned, grateful to hear a voice that wasn't Mr. Hendricks' for once that day. It belonged to a man about her age, possibly a little younger, in an ill-fitting suit and thick glasses. He was handsome, though, with curly blond hair and a sweet, if slightly awkward smile.

She nodded, smiling back and extending her hand. "I'm Lauren McAfee. Mr. Hendricks' new secretary."

"Brian Freeman." Of course that was his name.

"So, Mr. Freeman, where can a girl have lunch around here?"

"Well, I was going to the Davis Diner; it's not exactly the best place in town, but it's fast and cheap, and honestly, most other places near here are priced for executives."

"The Davis sounds perfect." She sidled next to him and they started walking. "You been working here long?"

"Nine years, at this point. I started as an intern in college, thinking it would be temporary, but before I knew it, I was an employee, so I've been here ever since."

"I had that at my last job. You think you'll just do it until you find something else, and then eight or nine years go by!"

"At least you got out of it. What was your last job?"

"Also secretary work. With Senator Vauxhall."

She certainly wasn't going to tell him or anyone else about The Bobcat, especially since she was trying to forget about it herself; just one day of secretary work made her never want to go back.

"That must have been great! I've been so out of touch with politics recently, I just have no idea what's going on. You should get me all caught up!"

"Oh, no. It's all pretty boring, really. I just wrote things down and never really got involved."

"That's probably the smart thing to do when it comes to politics! It can get so frustrating sometimes. I think Hendricks will be a lot less stressful."

"I hope so. I'd really love some stability at the moment."

"Yeah, I think that what happened to Miss Thompson was the most dramatic event in the history of the the company."

"Who's Miss Thompson?"

"You didn't know? She was Mr. Hendricks' old secretary. She fell out of her seventh story window a few days ago; that's why the job was open."

"Oh my god! Holy… That's terrible." She felt herself turn pale and almost started to cry.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would upset you so much. I'd assumed you knew."

"No." She tried to smile. "See, a friend of mine found the job for me, and he tends not to fill me in on a lot of important stuff like that." She put on her stage smile, But I'm not usually so sensitive, first day jitters, you know."

They continued talking throughout the lunch break, and she quickly ascertained that he wasn't married or involved with anyone. When they left to go back to the office, he helped put her sweater back on, and subtly but palpably kept his hand on her a few seconds longer than necessary. She smiled in approval as they walked back together. If she was going to work in an office, she might as well do it properly and sleep with a coworker. Besides, she reflected later while typing out a letter, Brian was her type. It was boys like Brian she had always wanted, and boys like Brian who had always turned her down before. It was a boy like Brian she was going to marry someday; that was one of the reasons she came to Metropolis in the first place. And Lex, Lex didn't mean anything to her. No, how could he? He killed people. He was only nice to her when she did what he told her to. That was all it was, just rewarding her so that she'd keep going along with him. He didn't love her, which was good, because she didn't love him. She hated him, wanted to—

Her typing became more fast-paced and noisy, and her face contorted into an agitated frown until she noticed Mr. Hendricks looking at her.

"Everything all right, Miss McAfee?"

"Yes, Mr. Hendricks, I just can't believe how people make so many demands on you. It's not fair."

"Oh, don't worry about that; I know how to deal with it at this point." They smiled lamely at each other and she went back to work, forcing herself to stop thinking about Lex, and instead think about Brian.

Eve and Brian saw each other during every free instant they had together. She wasn't quite sure how to treat him at first, whether to flirt and potentially scare him off, or act cool and potentially hurt his feelings. Eventually, she found an appropriate balance, being attentive and excited about everything he had to tell her, but never becoming too forward or suggestive. Her strategy seemed to work, as he eventually gave her a peck on the cheek after one coffee date, and a peck on the lips the next. They even started going on real dates to movies, restaurants, and eventually to his apartment.

It was nice. Not earth-shattering or anything, but nice. Nice enough to make her forget about Lex completely. Brian was what she really wanted. Brian was what any girl in her right mind would want, and he was _good_. He'd tried so hard to please her. Lex probably would have just taken what he wanted from her, and not given her anything in return. Or he would have been wonderful and smug about it. That was probably it. He'd manage to tease her to the brink, then finally make her come just by lightly touching her. She could just see it; he probably wouldn't even make time to sleep with her, he'd just finger her while he was reading or working on something else, stopping occasionally to tell her to be quiet. He'd manage to be so good, though. Good enough that she wouldn't mind what he was doing, good enough to make her forget-

"What are you thinking about, beautiful?"

"Oh, nothing." She quickly propped herself up in bed and kissed Brian on the cheek. "I'd make you breakfast, but I don't know how."

He kissed her on the lips. "I hope you like scrambled eggs."

"Love them."

He left the room and she got dressed, still contemplating how glad she was to be rid of Lex at last. Well, romantically, at least; she still had to visit him every so often to update him on everything that was happening at the office, and to deliver whatever documents she was able to copy surreptitiously, the documents that he was going to use for whatever—she paused, her stocking halfway up her leg. She didn't know what he was going to do with the information he gave her, but it certainly wouldn't be good for the company, and that meant Brian could be out of a job. Knowing Lex, everyone would somehow end up in jail after being implicated in some seedy business she would inadvertently uncover.

She knew what she had to do, and that night, she went to Lex's. The way there had become familiar to her, since he stopped coming to the club, and she stifled any nervousness by immediately knocking on the door.

Philip opened it, smiling when he saw who it was. He led her to Lex's office, telling her all about their plans to move somewhere, from the way he talked about it, it sounded like a subway station, and how she could have a key so she could visit all the time. Lex was less overjoyed at her presence, and quickly shooed Philip out of the room.

"What do you have, Miss Teschmacher?" He barely looked up at her from whatever he was writing at his desk, and she had to remind herself that she didn't care enough to be upset or to notice how cute he looked in his reading glasses and new hairstyle.

"Nothing. I can't do it anymore." She said it flatly and resisted the urge to run out of the room.

Lex took his glasses off and finally looked at her, leaning back in his chair.

"Miss Teschmacher, I'm not in the mood for this. I'm certainly paying you enough to do the job, and I have to say, you've demonstrated a certain, I might not go so far as to call it aptitude, but at the very least a capability for the job. There's absolutely no reason for you to quit."

She bit her lip before continuing. "Yeah, there is. Remember that guy Brian I told you about?"

He sighed dismissively. "If he knows anything, he can be easily gotten rid of. Though I would like to keep him around; from what you've given me on him, he could easily be framed for what we're doing, and that way you could continue to work for me without-"

"Lex, it's not about that; I love him."

He stared at her openly, going so far as to take off his reading glasses. "I'm sorry, Miss Teschmacher, you're going to have to repeat that."

She rolled her eyes. "You heard me, Lex; I love him. And that means I can't work for you anymore. I don't want him to lose his job, and I just want to be, I dunno, I want to be the person I think he deserves to be with."

"Miss Teschmacher" his voice became dangerously low "do you seriously mean to tell me that you're willing to give up everything I can offer you because you _love_ somebody?"

"Yes" she stated, proud of her resolve.

"Miss Teschmacher, even you're not infantile. Just think about what you're doing, think about what you're giving up. And for what? To protect someone you barely know?"

"I don't 'barely know' him. And besides, he loves me too, so we'll probably get married. I mean, I'm almost thirty-five; if I don't have a baby soon, it might be too late."

"Is that really what you're worried about, Miss Teschmacher? Is your mind so small that you can only focus on the most basic, primitive human instinct? You can't think about the bigger picture?"

"And what is the bigger picture, Lex? Money? It seems like that's all _you_ can focus on."

He gave a disgusted sigh. "Does he even know your name?"

"He doesn't have to."

"So, you intend to get married under a fake name, constantly afraid that someone's going to recognize you?"

Eve bit her lip, as she hadn't thought of that. "I'll come up with something. And don't worry, I won't rat on you, I won't tell him a thing about what we're doing."

"Does he know you're a hooker?"

"No, but he wouldn't care. He loves me no matter what."

"Then why don't you tell him?"

"Because" she faltered "No one says I have to tell him. It's a part of me I'd rather forget anyway, and it'll be nice being with someone who doesn't know and doesn't associate me with…things like that."

"Miss Teschmacher, I am not going to allow you to give up everything I can give you for the sake of a make-believe life with a man who doesn't even know your name."

"Well, you don't have a choice, do you? Look, I'll pay you back for the typing lessons if you really want, but you can't stop me."

As she turned to go, he got up and grabbed her arm.

"Miss Teschmacher, please. I—don't do this to me."

She had to ignore how pathetic he looked, the way he stared levelly at her but was unable to control the little crack in his voice. She'd never seen him like that and under normal circumstances would have believed his sincerity, but with her heart still pounding, she extricated herself from his grasp and he made no further moves to restrain her.

"You'll be back, Miss Teschmacher."

"Don't bet on it," she grumbled as she walked out the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Eve went to work the next day, eager to see Brian again. It was a relief not having to focus all her energy on memorizing everything that happened in the office, and she felt that she could be friendly with everyone without being self-conscious about the fact they would be either jobless or in jail because of her. During lunch hour, she waited outside for Brian, but the instant she looked at him, she realized that something was wrong.

"Hi, Brian!" she walked up to him and tried to sound as cheerful as ever, telling herself that she was imagining things.

"Lauren, we need to talk."

"Oh, okay." After a moment's hesitation, she told herself that he was probably going to propose, or at least ask her to go steady. He walked to The Davis Diner without holding her hand like he usually did. She trotted next to him, not even trying to make light conversation, until they reached their usual table in the corner of the Diner.

"Can you explain this" he took something out of his wallet, his voice tight with anger. She looked at the picture he had pulled out, and felt her blood run cold. It was a postcard for The Bobcat from a few years ago, one that had been plastered on so many buildings and bathroom walls that she knew it instantly. It was a picture of her in nothing but a sparkly G-string and nipple tassels to match. She had been laughing at something Lyds had said off-camera, and unfortunately her smile was immediately recognizable, as was her naked body. At the bottom of the card, of course, was the number and address of The Bobcat.

"What is that?" She tried to sound as angry and confused as possible, knowing that her last hope was to act innocent.

"I think you know what it is, Lauren. I found it in my mailbox this morning."

"That's not me. I mean, someone must have altered a picture, because I would obviously never-"

Brian held up a hand. "No, Lauren. That was my first thought too, but then I called the number and asked about the picture on the card. They knew who I was talking about, and said that Eve-I'm assuming that's you—was still an employee, but had found work somewhere else for the time being."

"Shit." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Brian, I had just arrived in Metropolis, and I needed food, I needed to _live_ , so I had no choice but to-"

"Sell yourself?"

"Well yeah, but it wasn't that bad. It's not like it _changes_ anything, right?"

"No, Lauren, I can't—I can't see you anymore. I thought you were a good girl, and I saw you as the type of person I'd like to have a family with, and who would support me in my career. But now that I know what you are, that's just not a possibility anymore."

"But you _loved_ me."

"I didn't know who you were. You lied to me, Lauren."

She wanted to say something back, but didn't for fear that the tears welling up in her eyes would start to fall. Without another word, Brian left the table. She scrambled to the bathroom, and let herself cry for a few minutes. She knew who had put that postcard in his mailbox, she knew but she didn't care; Brian should have loved her anyway. Brian should have never mentioned it, or told her it was okay, told her that it didn't make a difference. Lex had never done that. No matter how what he had done to her, she knew he treated her like he treated everyone else.

That was the problem with nice boys, and nice girls; they only liked you as long as you were one of them. She could only imagine that the other women she worked with would start to freeze her out if they ever found out, not to mention the fact that Mr. Hendricks would fire her immediately out of disgust.

But none of that was going to happen. It wasn't going to happen because she would get them first. She went back into the building, stopping at Brian's empty cubicle on the way. She walked into Mr. Hendricks' office with her back straight and her face fixed into a determined yet friendly smile.

"Miss McAfee, you're back early." Mr. Hendricks commented.

"I know sir, but I finished lunch early, and so I thought I should come back to work instead of just wasting time."

"Good God, Miss McAfee, why can't everyone in this company be like you?" She smiled for a second, then let the smile fade. "There is one thing though, sir. Do you know Brian Freeman in accounting?"

"Yes, vaguely, the one who looks like Rudy Vallee. You're close with him, aren't you?"

"That's the one. Well, I heard him talking the other day, and he mentioned some facts about" she lowered her voice "'the Singelton matter' that I had thought were only between the two of us. So I just wanted to know what the new privacy policy is on that."

His eyes widened, and her anxiously ran a hand through his hair. "Oh God, really? How much does he know?"

"I'm not sure. You know what; he's on break, so maybe we should check his cubicle for any papers, just to see what he knows."

"Let's do that, Miss McAfee."

She tried to hide her triumphant smile when he found the relevant papers she had hidden in his desk. She had copied them right before the split with Lex, and had almost forgotten she'd still had them in her purse.

"Miss McAfee, I'm going to stay right here until that rat comes back, so that I can fire him on the spot!"

"Absolutely, Mr. Hendricks! But, if you could keep my name out of it. Like you said, we were acquaintances, and I wouldn't want him to try and, I don't know, get revenge on me."

"Good point. Why don't you go back to my office, and check the filing cabinet to see if anything else looks amiss? Here are the keys, and report _anything_ suspicious, okay."

"Okay." She trotted back, clutching the keys so tightly they left an imprint on her hand. He had never trusted her with the keys to _the_ file cabinet before, and she had certainly never looked in it unsupervised. Immediately upon opening it, she took out her pen and pad and began writing down all the important names and details she could find. There wasn't much, but the papers that were there were all incriminating. She still didn't understand a lot of it, but she was sure Lex could get some use out of it. She was finished before Mr. Hendricks arrived, and calm enough to seem unsuspicious.

"How'd it go?"

"He didn't admit to anything, of course, but he's gone."

Hendricks sat down. "I just can't believe it. Just can't believe it. But thank you, Miss McAfee. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that we could have been ruined if it hadn't been for you."

"Well, I wouldn't quite go that far-"

"Miss McAfee, you're getting a raise. And the rest of the day off. I don't think either of us will be at their best after such a rattling experience."

She nodded and hurried out of the building. She didn't want to leave the photocopied papers at her apartment, and she couldn't go to Lex right after such a major incident at the company, so went to the first place she could think of, The Bobcat. She'd been back enough times so that her appearance didn't instigate much fuss, and the papers quickly went into her makeup drawer while Sandra was getting help from everyone in trying to squeeze into a corset. She sat at her old makeup table and told everyone what had happened with Brian.

"They always do find out, don't they?" Sandra sighed.

"They always _care_ , that's the problem." Added Lydia. "And guys who know in the first place don't want you either!"

"You know what you're gonna do, Evie?" asked Sandra.

"I don't know. I mean, right after it happened, I really wanted to go back to Lex. But, I don't know if that's the best idea after what he did to me."

"Wouldn't you have done the same, though?" Lyds asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, if Lex were dating some chick who didn't know anything about him, you honestly wouldn't be tempted to let her know what he'd done? Just a little bit?"

"Well, I might be tempted, but I wouldn't do something like that."

"Evie, you just got a guy fired because he hurt your feelings, you're not really the saint in this situation."

She sighed and leaned back against the table. Lyds was right; of course she would tell any girlfriend of his what he had done in the past. She loved him, but not enough to be willing to see him happy with someone else. And there was the possibility that he felt that way about her.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll see him one more time at least; just to get everything straightened out with the money he owes me. And then we'll see."


	11. Chapter 11

Eve spent the next two weeks going to work every day and acting as though everything were normal. The other girls talked about Brian, of course, but she pretended that their relationship had been nothing but platonic. It was much easier to lie to secretaries than hookers.

After the fuss and suspicions had died down sufficiently, Eve retrieved the papers from the club, and went to Lex's house. When Philip closed the door behind her, Lex looked up from the book he was reading and gave her that devastating smile.

"Hello, Miss Teschmacher. I'm guessing you're not here to invite me to yours and Mr. Freeman's wedding."

She tossed the papers on his desk. "That's five thousand you owe me."

"Five thousand it is." He nodded graciously and opened a desk drawer, removing a massive stack of bills. "I have something else for you, if you're interested. I don't know if you indulge" he reached back into the desk drawer and took out a large, clear packet of white powder.

Eve smiled, grateful for the unspoken reconciliation. "Oh yeah. I've only done it twice, but I really liked it. And, um, I've got something else for you, too" Without waiting for a response, she undid her coat and let it drape across her shoulders like women in furs always seemed to do. All she had on underneath were her tassels and G-string, but before she could feel too embarrassed, he calmly strode over to her and kissed her. Kissed her in that way no one else could. Just when she was ready to have him on the floor, he pulled back.

"Miss Teschmacher."

"Yes, Lex" she sighed.

"Miss Teschmacher, if I were pawn every one of your possessions" she nodded, trying to hurry him up "and then cut you open and sell your organs on the black market" her nodding slowed "it wouldn't cover one third of the price of that rug."

She stared at him, until she realized that her soggy raincoat had slipped off her arms and fallen onto the elaborate floor. Scoffing a little at his skewed priorities, she picked up the coat and threw it onto what looked like an equally expensive armchair. Before he could admonish her, she took the packet from his hand and walked past him to his desk. Pausing to clear a few papers away, she hoisted herself up and poured some of the coke onto the glossy surface. Using a gold letter opener, she cut the powder into even smaller fragments and separated the small pile it into two lines.

"You got a straw or something?"

Wordlessly, he reached into his wallet and rolled up a hundred dollar bill. She grinned as she accepted it from him, idly wondering if she could keep it without his noticing. Then, she flipped onto her stomach and inhaled.

" _Whoa_ , that is—that is _nice_ " she giggled. "You gonna have some?"

"Oh, sure." He placed his hand firmly between her shoulder blades to keep her still, then she felt him pour the powder onto her lower back, right up to her G-string. He took the hundred from her hand, and she felt it glide across the line on her body. The scratchy sensation made her giggle again, and when he was done, she turned over onto her back.

"Where do you want this one?" he asked. "I could do it here" with his finger he traced a line right below her neck, "or here" he traced between her breasts, "or maybe here" above her belly button, "or how about here?" he traced a final line just below her belly, ending just where the triangle of her G-string began.

"Yeah" she sighed contentedly. "Yeah, I want it there."

The powder tickled and the bill scratched, and the desk wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was the sexiest she'd ever felt. So, she sat up and kissed him again, enjoying the feel of his hand against her naked legs, then hips, then waist. That was the wonderful thing about coke, she decided; it made her so much more sensitive to those little sensations. He gently put his hand on the side of her breast, which felt better than anything, especially since he was still kissing her. After she gave him a little moan of approval, he became more daring and started to fondle her. He wrapped her nipple tassel around his finger and yanked it off with a sharp tug.

" _Ow_ , Jesus Christ, Lex!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know—I've never…"

"That's okay" She stroked his mildly concerned-looking face. "Kiss it better?"

"Well, if you insist" he smiled. She leaned slightly back on the desk and he kissed down her neck and shoulders until he reached her breast.

"Oh, _Lex_ " she groaned as he gently began kissing and sucking at her nipple. He worked at her with a perfect combination of lips, tongue, and teeth, so that it didn't hurt, nor did it feel like he was being overly hesitant. Instinctively, she grabbed his hair, both to steady herself and pull him closer, but when she did, his hair came off. Brain slightly fogged by the coke, she stared at the large mass of hair she held in her hand, wondering how she had the strength to pull it all out. Once she realized the situation, however, she began laughing harder than she had in ages.

Lex pulled away from her almost immediately, and snatched the wig away from her.

"I'm sorry Lex, I'm really sorry." She tried to sound convincing, but it was almost impossible, since the mere sight of him without any hair made her convulse with laughter. She suddenly stopped abruptly as a thought occurred to her. "Oh god, you're not sick or something, are you?"

"No, Miss Teschmacher."

"Oh, okay, good." She laughed again, out of mirth and out of joy that she hadn't been hideously offensive to a cancer patient.

"Miss Teschmacher, I fail to see…"

"No, no, no, I'm sorry, I'll stop. Trust me, I'll stop." She managed to compose herself for a few seconds, but just as he began kissing her again, she was overcome with laughter.

"All right, Miss Teschmacher; that's it." Without another word, he picked her up and took her to his bedroom. He dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed, and after indulging in a few more giggles; she stood up and started to unbutton his shirt, pausing occasionally to kiss him again. The shirt was well-made and heavy, so unlike anything she had taken off a guy before.

"Miss Teschmacher, do I need to use protection?"

"No, I'm clean, I just got checked."

"And I assume you're on the pill"

"God, of course."

She finished with his shirt, helped him pull off his undershirt, and started kissing his shoulders and chest. He looked the way she had expected him to, with muscular arms and just enough hair on his chest to look powerful and masculine.

She led him to the bed, where he took off his shoes and pants and she eased off her nipple tassel until she was left in nothing but a G-string and heels. Having posed for enough magazines, calendars, and even playing cards, she knew what to do. Raising one arm over her head and lifting a knee so that one leg was slightly crossed over the other, she posed in the sexiest way she could. It seemed to work, since the second he was done taking his clothes off, he slid the G-string down her legs.

His breathing became heavier, especially when he took her shoes off, and began kissing his way up her leg.

"Would you like me to…"

"Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, if you don't mi— _Oh, Lex_ " she gasped and clutched the bedsheets as he delicately flicked his tongue over her most sensitive spot. He did it again with a little more force, and she cried out twice as loudly. He continued kissing, licking, sucking, and even lightly biting at her hardened nub, as she clenched and unclenched her fists, whimpering with the bliss of it all. Finally, after an especially vigorous lick, she came, panting and groaning.

"Lex, you're so good" she whispered, gently putting her hands on his shoulders, and then on the back of his neck as he got on top of her.

He kissed her even harder than before, and she could feel her breasts pressing against his chest. He eased into her slowly and gently at first, and she could feel herself tighten around him. His thrusts soon became faster and harder, as she encouraged him with little shrieks and groans. She'd thought that after the exhaustion of her first orgasm, she wouldn't be able to have another that night, but within seconds, she felt her pleasure start to mount once again, especially when he pressed his hand against her clit. She came again, and he followed swiftly, emptying himself inside her.

After getting off her, he kissed her forehead. "Very good, Miss Teschmacher." He started turning down the bed. "You staying the night?"

She nodded, still shaky and dizzy from what had just happened. They got into bed and wordlessly, he manhandled her so that her back was pressed up against his chest. It had never been her favorite sleeping position and feeling stifled, she pushed him flat on his back and rested her head against his shoulder, with her arm across his chest.

"Lex?"

"Hmm?"

"Um, well, do you…I mean, before when I'd do things for you, you'd, you know, be affectionate with me. So, was this just like that, or do you actually…you know what, I think the coke's messing with me a little bit. Never mind." She cuddled closer to him, reasoning to herself that it didn't really matter. He'd slept with her, and that had been all she'd wanted.

"Don't be inane, Miss Teschmacher. What do you want to know?"

"I said 'never mind'. Let's just forget about it, you know. I mean, we slept together and it was nice, but that's it. I don't expect anything else from you."

"Well, what else could you expect?"

"I don't know, maybe a little affection that doesn't just happen after I do a job for you."

"What, you're upset because I don't spend every second pawing you? You don't get enough of that from your clients?"

"That's different; I don't want you like that. I just want to think that you care about me." Her voice faded out, as she was starting to flinch from the edginess of his voice.

"Miss Teschmacher" he sighed, his voice sounding somewhat gentler. "If it's any consolation, I don't care about anyone."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"I don't care how it makes you feel; now shut up and go to sleep"

She remained quiet for a few moments, then brushed her finger across his cheek. "I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too, now go to sleep."

Not quite able to believe what she had heard, but unwilling to press the issue, she gave his shoulder a little squeeze before falling asleep next to him.


	12. Chapter 12

Usually when Eve woke up in a strange room, there was a moment or two of confusion before she put the events of the night together. That morning, however, as the sunlight streamed onto her face, her first waking thoughts were about Lex and everything that had happened the night before.

He woke up a few moments later, and rolled over so that he was facing her. He appraised her with his eyes for a few moments, as she waited for him to say something—hopefully a repeat of what he'd said before.

"Jesus, I must have been out of it last night."

She rolled her eyes and moved away from him, but didn't get too far before he grabbed her around the waist with that powerful grace she'd always loved.

"But since you're here" he dragged her back towards him and started kissing her.

"Since I'm here, huh?" She kissed him back delicately.

She'd hoped that sleeping with him would make her less enthralled with him, but it had the opposite effect. It just gave her more things to love him for, from the easy muscularity in his arms to the bit of plumpness at his stomach, to the way he went down on her. Even the fact that he didn't have hair was endearing.

She kissed him again, afraid that if she didn't, she'd tell him how she felt, tell him that she would do anything for him. Kill for him, die for him, anything he asked, and he _would_ ask, that was the terrible thing.

"Hey, Mr. Luthor, I checked to make sure that the—oh, I'm sorry!"

Philip stood in the doorway to the bedroom, slightly slack-jawed at the sight of Eve naked in bed. "I'll—you know what, it's not that important, I can just tell you later."

"Yes, Philip, why don't you do that. Oh, and call up Hendricks; tell him that Lauren McAfee's quit, or she died, or whatever idiotic excuse comes into your mind." Lex rolled his eyes at the departing figure. "Sorry, Miss Teschmacher, he's not always good with"

"Knocking?" she supplied.

"Exactly." He brushed her hair back and kissed her neck.

"Mmm, I hope I haven't traumatized the poor kid. I think he's sweet."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't get too attached to him if I were you. There have been quite a few people in Philip's position and they tend not to last very long."

"Oh, you mean they quit a lot?'

"Something like that."

"All right."

She watched him get up and start looking over his wardrobe. "What are you doing today?"

"I'm free, if that's what you want to know. It's already 10:30, so do you want me to take you out to lunch in a little while?"

"Really? Yeah, of course!" She stretched and instinctively groped around the floor, before sitting up again. "Oh, Lex!"

"What is it, Miss Teschmacher?"

"I don't have any clothes!"

"You have a coat, don't you?"

"I can't wear a coat inside a restaurant!"

He conceded her point, and after some deliberation, tossed a pink suit onto the bed. "I think that should work. Just make sure to have it back to me next time."

"Thanks, Lex." She buttoned she shirt, enjoying how big it felt on her body. "Can you help me with the tie?"

She could see the annoyance in his face, but he sat next to her on the bed and gave her a demonstration while she mirrored his movements. It took a few tries, and more than a little patience on his part, but she finally managed a decent knot. He straightened it for her, and gently kissed her on the lips, before they both went back to getting dressed. It took him far longer than it did her, but she enjoyed spending the extra time admiring herself in the mirror. As she fixed her hair, she wondered how soon they were going to get married, and what kind of ring he was going to buy her. It seemed like proposing was the only logical thing for him to do, and if he didn't of his own volition, well, she could always go off the pill and make him marry her _that_ way. Anything, as long as she had him.

They went to Walch's for lunch, and as always, she enjoyed the way everyone fawned over the two of them. They got the best table and faster service than anyone else. He started telling her about the time he had to use a yacht as a getaway vehicle, and ended up in North Carolina. As he was in the middle of the part where he had to find someone to help him without letting them see the contents of his luggage, he paused for an instant.

"Miss Teschmacher, put your head down."

"What?"

Unhesitatingly, he gave her a shove so that her face was squished against the booth. Before she could comprehend what was happening, she heard gunshots, one from farther away, followed by two or three from right next to her. She stayed down and squeezed her eyes shut, praying harder than she ever had before. After the last gunshot, she was pulled up with a sharp yank on her hair. It was Lex, thank god, and he didn't look hurt.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Without any further prompting, she scrambled out of the booth, unheeding of the other screaming patrons. All she could see was the body of a waiter and of a man holding a gun, both of whom had perfect bullet holes through their foreheads. She carefully dodged the blood on the floor, and when she got outside, she felt Lex grab her arms and quickly lead her to the waiting car.

"Philip, home" he yelled, as she felt herself starting to cry from shock.

"Philip!" He repeated, before putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Oh, shit" he said mildly, as raised voices and gunshots could be heard behind them. Lex got out of the car, and threw Philip out.

Eve screamed. Philip had been shot in the neck.


	13. Chapter 13

By some wild maneuvers, they were able to get rid of the other car, and made it to the house on Wilmer street. Even when they pulled into the driveway, Eve lay on the backseat and cried over what had happened.

"Oh, Lex, Lex, that was so awful!"

"Don't worry, Miss Teschmacher, I'm fine."

"I meant about Philip, Lex" she stopped crying, and sat up, her voice cracking with anger She so filled with adrenaline, she felt herself trembling.

"That's all right; I'll find a replacement. Shouldn't be too difficult. Now, are you going to come inside, or do you intend to spend the night here?"

"Lex, do you not care that Philip is dead?"

"No, why should I?"

"Well, wha—how can you—he was close to you, and now he's dead."

"Miss Teschmacher, do you really think that the greatest criminal mind of our century is going to waste time worrying about the death of some strung-out little punk? That I don't have more important, more elevated subjects to occupy my mind with?"

"What if it had been me? Or are you too brilliant to care about the death of some cheap hooker?"

"Come on, Miss Teschmacher." He lifted her out of the car, and carried her into the house, setting her down on the couch, before changing out of his bloodied shirt.

"You know" he called out from his bathroom, "if you plan on staying with me, you'll have to get used to things like that happening." He came back to the living room, his shirt half-buttoned.

"I know" She wiped her eyes. "I'm okay. Just a little rattled. It's just that was the first time I've ever been shot at, and the first time I've seen a dead body. Big day." She smiled weakly, and he kissed the top of her head.

"Stick with me and you'll get used to it."

She gulped down her last few tears and asked the question she'd been too scared to bring up before. "How many people have you killed?"

"Including people I've killed indirectly, or just _mano a mano_ , so to speak?"

"Yeah, just ones you've actually killed yourself, and not counting self-defense" She had the feeling that if he counted the people he'd ordered to be executed, and the ones who'd been sent to kill him, the number would be far higher than she'd like to hear. It would be like if she had to count the number of people she'd slept with including paying customers, it wouldn't be fair.

"Fifty-seven."

She felt her jaw drop open. "That's _not_ counting self-defense of things like that?"

"Those are the ones that I personally killed, for my own gain."

"Oh my god, Lex; you are sick. You are really, really sick." She couldn't help but feel a little thrill at the thought, especially as he stood in front of her, his shirt still unbuttoned. After what had happened to Philip, she needed to feel something better, or at least different. Lex seemed to sense her thought process, because he gave her that sardonic smile.

"Miss Teschmacher"

"Yes, Lex?"

"In light of what happened to Philip, I think it might be best for us to lie low as much as possible. Now, that's easy for me to do, since I'll be moving into my new place next week, but you might have a harder time, considering the nature of your job. So, I was wondering if you'd like to quit and move in with me."

"What—really? I…oh no. No, no, you think I'm stupid, don't you? You think that if you get me to move in with you, then we don't have to get married."

He didn't fall for her bluff, however, and flashed that awful, adorable smile. "All right, Miss Teschmacher, that's completely your decision. But don't blame me when you're slowly bleeding to death behind a dumpster because a member of the Schoppa family thinks they can get information from you."

"Well" she sighed, leaning back on the couch "maybe I could move in with you for a little bit. Just until we know they're not after us anymore. Unless we get married, then I wouldn't have to move out again." She figured it was worth another try.

"Miss Teschmacher" he growled. It was a warning and she knew enough to heed it.

"Where are you gonna live, anyway?"

He smiled, "I think you'll get a kick out of it."

"Can I have my own room?" After years of living with a roommate, she had her priorities.

"I think that can be arranged. You're not claustrophobic, are you?"

She shook her head. "I don't care, where we are, just so long as I can be with you."

And she did get to be with him. Living underground was hard to get used to at first, but so were a lot of things; so was watching Lex throw people into the river with concrete attached to their feet, so was being shot at by members of other families whom she could never keep straight in her mind, so was having to whore herself out to anyone Lex wanted information from or on. It was all worth it, though, because of Lex. He was good to her, he loved her. He loved her, she reminded herself for what seemed like the hundredth time as she watched him interrogate a young lackey while his new assistant worked on the boy's fingers with a pair of pliers. He loved her, and she loved him, and that was all that mattered.

The End


End file.
